The Question: Are computers now cleverer than us?

Perhaps not since Neil Armstrong set foot on the moon has one person been so vested with the responsibility of representing all of humanity. But instead of having his name attached to the pinnacle of human achievement, Lee Sedol will forever be associated with the moment the limits of human intelligence, and the potential of artificial intelligence, became clear. In Seoul on Tuesday, AlphaGo, a program developed by Google, completed a 4-1 series defeat of the Korean in the ancient Asian game of Go, which is several times more complex than chess. Its subtlety and nuance make it a particular challenge for artificial intelligence. As a test of machine-learning capability, Go has long been considered a key benchmark, and this success has come a decade ahead of many experts’ previous…